The Biggest Challenge Facing the Dental Business Today

Robert Pick, D.D.S., M.S., is the principal of Progressive Periodontics & Implants, as well as the dental consulting firm, the Pick Group. Pick has made his career in dentistry by becoming a dental entrepreneur. As a result, he’s learned a few lessons along the way. In this clip, Pick explains what he thinks is the biggest threat to the business of dentistry today.

Interview Transcript (Modified for Readability)

“The biggest challenge that faces the business of dentistry today depends on what side you’re on. In the last five to ten years, and especially recently, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in dental service organizations. It comes from students being in debt. And so there’s the DSO. The dental entrepreneur sees that DSO as a threat. And that, as we see dentistry today, is the biggest threat — it’s the dental entrepreneur being threatened by the DSO. However, if you come into the 21^st century and you learn things that you didn’t learn in dental school — marketing, internal marketing, system operations, business retreats – you can become better than you’ve ever been with no worries of any practice ever interfering with your operation.”

“In my first year of practice, the biggest lesson was dental school does not prepare you for the business world of dentistry. And I’m one who went straight into my own practice with a partner. I never was an associate. We did it cold. I made every mistake in the book financially, business wise with my team. You are unprepared. My advice to young clinicians is, be an associate for a couple of years. Learn the ropes. If you’re going to go out and become a dental entrepreneur, hire the right consultants and find the right mentors to get you where you need to go.”